Samar police chief sacked over illegal numbers game

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—A provincial police director in Samar was relieved from his post for failing to stop the proliferation of an illegal numbers game in the province.

Senior Supt. Eusebio Mejos will be sent to the regional personnel holding accounting unit of the Eastern Visayas police after he was removed from his post in Samar on Monday.

Mejos will be replaced by Senior Supt. Roel Acidre who will sit as police director in an acting capacity.

Insp. Romacuel Nacar, regional police spokesperson, said Mejos’ transfer is part of the routine shuffle of officers at the Philippine National Police.

But a source, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to talk on the matter, told the Inquirer that Mejos was relieved because of his failure to stop the illegal numbers game “swertres” in Samar where he was police director since 2011.

“He was relieved as police provincial director because of his failure to address the problem and no less than the governor sought his transfer,” the source told the Inquirer.

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The INQUIRER tried to get Mejos’ statement but he had not answered several text messages and phone calls.

Swertres, which is rampant in Samar, is based on the official results of the lottery called Suertres of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) where a bettor selects a three-number combination from 000 to 999.

Bets in swertres can be as low as P1 with a corresponding prize of P400. In PCSO’s Suertres, each bet costs P10 with a prize pot of P4,500.